Dodging the Crowds, Burning in the Streets

Against the Odds

Washington, D.C. is the seat of government in the U.S., and ironically, one of the few places where its citizens do not have full voting rights. Residents of the District can vote, but their representatives do not have a voting seat in the House of Representatives (shadows don’t have real power) and no seat at all in the Senate. The District’s disenfranchised citizens can vote for president, but as the city is staunchly pro-Democrat, it’s unlikely a two-party government will ever afford them a full voice.

“No Work, No School,” Petworth, Washington, DC, February 2017

That does little to deter its residents from speaking out. We who were born there never quit. We are never silent. We seldom go along for the ride, except at work, within the bowels of government. It’s unlikely that dissent will lead to change, but swimming upstream is what residents of the District and the DMV (DC, Maryland, and Virginia) do most fervently. Against the odds or no, we keep up the pressure for change.